Wiss number 11 on eBay.

[hutch--]

I have almost a complete collection of Wiss shears but this one popped up on eBay and I could not resist the temptation. Blades are good but they will need to be hollow ground to get under some marking where someone has had a go at them.

[Schneiderfrei]

Beaudy Hutch,

How long is the #11?

G

[hutch--]

I think they are 16 inch, will see when they turn up from the US. I have a pair of #12 and they are 16.5 and they are getting too big for my hands but I can use them. The really big ones usually turn up in good condition as very few people can use them so they rarely ever get much wear.

[Schneiderfrei]

I would love a pair that size.

G

[hutch--]

 

You may change your mind if you had to pick them up, the 12# pair I have cut beautifully but they are really heavy. 10# are about as much as you can cut shapes with and you have to have a big fist to use them.

[hutch--]

Turned up today, in really good nick, not much to do apart from refinish them.

[Schneiderfrei]

That looks glorious.  I love the stand, so it can sit upright.

[hutch--]

I have most of the engineering done, corrected the top blade curvature, slightly modified the internals of the hinge so I get enough adjustment range and hollow ground both blades as someone long ago tried to do the same and left really ugly grinding marks on the blade faces. Currently removing as much of the old black japan off the handles as possible so they can later be repainted. Matched the tips to ensure they cut accurately at the tips.

The rest is finishing the exposed metalwork to a bright finish so they look like the originals and the tedious task of painting the handles which take a week or so to harden up enough. Once done they must be sharpened and they are ready to rock 'n roll. They are really heavy and I cannot fully open them with my hand span but they would be useful for very heavy fabrics, something like the old tweed overcoat material that was around when I was a young kid. (My grandparents used to buy them for us kids.)

[hutch--]

This is the nearly finished state, I painted the handles yesterday and carefully put them together today so they can sit somewhere for the two pack paint to cure to full hardness then the have to be finally finished and sharpened properly.

[Schneiderfrei]

Hutch, I had my 13 inch Wiss shears dressed up.  Mr Butler was keen to avoid hollow grinding the pair and I agreed.  After about 6 months, the steel seems to be a bit soft, it no longer cuts all the way through. What do you think should be done next?

[hutch--]

Graham,

I went back and had a look at the photos you posted when you first got them but its hard to tell what would make that happen from the photos. Wiss shears from around that period had very good steel in the cutting edges so I doubt it is that type of problem. It is probably a wear related problem on the inside blade faces and you check this by holding the shear blades up to the light and looking at the gap between the blades. They should only touch right at the tip.

Also have a look at the face of each blade and the only contact area is a very fine line up at the cutting edge. If it is wider or uneven then the blades need to be hollow ground again. I have mainly had to hollow grind blades due to rust pitting but sometime after someone long ago "knife and forked" them and ruined the precision of the blades. Of this much you can be sure, even very old Wiss shears had accurate high precision blade profiles and you get deviation due to wear or butchery.

That pair sharpened properly should last you years before their performance drops off as the get blunt and about all I can think of is the blade face profiles are starting to wear.

[hutch--]

This is the Win 11n shears finished. Very heavy and really only suited for industrial applications like sail making and perhaps heavy tweed overcoat material but very powerful and precise. You can use them on a cutting table with a bit of practice (probably after some time in the gym) but you certainly would not use them as trimmers.

[TTailor]

Wow.
I always wanted a pair like that, but the reality is my hands are too small to use them properly. Sigh.
You have done a beautiful job on them.

[Schneiderfrei]

They do look exquisite.  I've seen that old footage of young men cutting out coats on a Saville Row bench top in the 40's/50's like it was tissue paper.

What part of Sydney do you live in Hutch?

G

[hutch--]

Terri,

I am in the same boat, I can use them on a table but even with my hand span I cannot open them fully. I can pick them up but they are really heavy. A course at the gym would probably help but they are really an industrial tool for heavyweight work.

Graham,

Surry Hills.